Voids: Rise of Mechaa
by N.D. Stark
Summary: So; as I stood on the balcony of Stark Tower recounting everything that had happened, watching the boys play a game of football while tourists stared; and Natasha, Gwen and Pepper sat on the sidelines, I didn't see strangers. I didn't see icons from my childhood comic books. I saw friends. My best friends. And I would never change the life I live now.
1. Chapt 1: Stupidity and Irony

I swear sometimes my life can't get any crazier. It was on the thirteenth of June I learned that it could. People call me Carma, or sometimes Minty. It's short for Carmaline. My full name is Carmaline Minty Woodward. Don't ask why Minty is my middle name, it just is. I am your average 'jock nerd' I guess. Apparently I'm the only jock nerd out there. I enjoy wearing print T shirts, ripped jeans and my favorite combat boots, sometimes accompanied by my favorite grey sweat shirt. At first look, I seem pretty ordinary, save for the blue and black streaks in my dirty blonde hair, my apparently huge green eyes, and the annoying splash of freckles on my face. And, really, my life is pretty crazy. I am busy, skiing, running, climbing, seeing the town around me while I get post cards from countless places all over the world from my parents, who are traveling the world. I had surprised myself by opting not to go on their world wide trip. I'm also in a science club, and frequently go to the movies with my friend Rebecca. Sometimes I even spend hours trying to get the Canadian accent out of my voice in my spare time, along with reading, writing, drawing, singing, and countless other things. And don't get me started about my fangirling over superheroes, especially Marvel ones. My life was a good crazy. The kind of crazy that makes you collapse on your bed at night and laugh about all the things you did wrong. I think it couldn't get any crazier. Boy, I was wrong.

It was June thirteenth and the Texas heat was getting to me. I had decided to run home from school that day, donned in my combat boots, some shorts, and my Jurassic Park shirt, which was annoyingly black and sucked in the heat. My sweat shirt was tied around my waist and my hair was flying; I was going pretty fast. My red back pack was banging mercilessly against my back, to the point where my back got so numb I could ignore it. I was booking it to get to Rebecca's house, we where planning on seeing The Amazing Spider Man 2 that night, hoping we hadn't spoiled it by looking so many things up. I knew Gwen was gonna die, and yes I had to admit, they where good for each other. Too perfect. Sigh. We were also planning on having a sleepover afterward, so I had a pair of jeans and an AC/DC shirt inside my bag, along with my laptop, IPod Nano, and a few other random things, like a spare Captain America comic from my Dad's old collection. I stopped myself by a small pond on the side of the road to pull my hair back in a messy braid. I even went to the measure of dumping the rest of my water bottle on my head because it was so hot. Thankfully my backpack was water proof. Then the crazier started to happen. I was sitting there for a few more seconds, and I was about to get up and keep going when the air around me started to arc with shades of blue.

"That's not normal…" I muttered to myself.

Before I knew it, all the energy had popped together into a swirling, angry mass. And I did the dumbest thing anyone would do. I touched it. I couldn't stop myself. I was too curious. And now you're probably asking yourself. _"What the heck are you thinking!?"_, but if you knew me personally, you would also know I suffered losing half my sanity a little while ago. It was sad, but I'm still sane enough to put this into words and worry about important things right? I have no intention of becoming like Deadpool anyway. He's funny and all, but I would not want to be him.

Anyway, after I touched it, I felt a very, _very_ weird sensation ripple through me. Like being crushed under a bulldozer and stretched out farther than Mr. Fantastic. After that, I opened my eyes, so presumably at one point I closed them. And what I saw was amazing. Stars. Billions and trillions of them weaved about inside an endless rainbow of colors, all dark and dull. Nebulas and constellations. Planets and suns and so many other things I couldn't name flew past me in a crazed blur. But soon it was over and I found myself standing on a familiar looking platform. It stood in a large room; the ceiling was almost fifty feet above me. Banners with NASA and other organizations where symbolized on the tapestries. The room was filled with rows of computers and people, some shockingly familiar. In the center a curious looking contraption held a blue cube. That blue cube was starting to look awfully familiar.

My first reaction was freezing on the spot. Anyone and everyone would naturally do that after going through what seemed like the universe and getting guns pointed at them right? Apparently I was suddenly the biggest threat. Then I realized the world around me was still moving. After another quick glance around, my eyes nearly popped out of their sorry sockets. Three other rift-like portals had opened on either side on me, even above me, which was half surprising. And out of those portals came some of the most familiar characters I could ever hope for. Wolverine of all people came out on my left, freezing in shock similar to how I had when I first came through, a snarl slowly falling as his claws glinted in the blue light of the machines. Unimaginably, Spider-man of all other people popped through on my right, also freezing in a defensive stance. What I would've given to see the look on his face right then. And last but definatly not least, above me, none other than the Human Torch came barreling through. Apparently he wasn't very good at stopping himself, and with a laughingly girlish scream he crashed into the wall before extinguishing and falling onto the floor with a grunt. At this point, Wolverine had started to move, baring his claws and teeth alike.

And I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I screamed. It was a half joyous, half scared scream, and it echoed through the cavern. SWAT people where pushing forward, trying to contain Wolverine with what I was guessing where tranquilizers. A very familiar looking man with a bow strapped to his back quickly pointed it at the Spider-Man and me. Spider-man had thrust himself in front of me protectively, obviously assuming that I was, and I am mind you; a helpless civilian. The Human Torch was struggling to stand up, but was surprisingly quickly taken down by one of the SWAT people. The sight was horrifying and fantastical at the same time. Suddenly I felt a sharp prick in my arm, and I looked at it like I had been stabbed. There was an unmistakable tranquilizer dart burrowed snuggly into my arm, and I have to say, that's probably what made me scared of needles most right then. Of all things. Needles? Right then? Of all times? I mean seriously self! Get a hold of yourself! After that I started to feel really weird, and the world became an obnoxious swirl of rainbows. Strange. That wasn't normal. Then I suddenly had a very dull light bulb moment, my memory finally surfacing after all this time. But before I could register it, my eyes started to feel droopy and they closed, and I fell into a dreamless sleep, the last thing I remembered was Spider-man fruitlessly trying to defend me as I fell to the ground.

Sometimes fate absolutely hates me, doesn't it?

After what felt like a few seconds, I opened my eyes to find I was somewhere else. I was in a small, cramped, glass containment cell. There were absolutely no solid walls, all of them where an annoyingly clear glass. It seemed to be a bigger cell, just split into four small spaces. To my left was the Human Torch, sitting ankle deep in water. Wolverine was across from me; opera like mask discarded on the floor, scraping his claws against the thick glass, making a dull screech. And on my right, was Spider-man, mask also off, (but nowhere in sight) numbly swinging back and forth on his heels. On the ceiling as well, ironically. And the annoying thing was, I could hear them all breathing.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I asked myself aloud.

All three of them looked at me abruptly, almost in unison. They stared at me a second.

"Hello?" I tried shyly.

I received a dull grunt from Wolverine, and a wave and shy smile from the Human Torch. Spider Man muttered a hello before collapsing on the ceiling. I smiled a bit awkwardly, unsure of what to say next. Make it casual.

"My name's Carmaline."

Wolverine muttered 'Logan' quietly before returning to his work of trying to claw through the glass.

"Johnny." The Human Torch said with another shy smile.

"Guess you can call me… um... Peter. You have any idea how we got here?" Spider-man half whispered before jumping onto the floor.

"Actually…" I started, remembering the movie. The movie, the Avengers. The man with the bow was no doubt Clint Barton, or Hawkeye. "That blue cube? In the big room when we came here? I'm not sure, but I think it's the Tesseract. "I received three confused looks. "It's like an elemental space orb. I think they where screwing around with it or something. Maybe it made a rift, which sucked us to this place. Or world. Or… who knows where?" I finished numbly before plopping in my butt on the floor.

"And how do you know this?" Johnny asked, bewildered.

I most have started blushing or something ridiculous, because Logan started laughing a bit.

"You guys didn't know each other before this. Right?" I asked.

I received a nod from everyone.

"Well." How was I going to explain this? To them of all people? "In my world, I'm guessing that we're all from different universes at this point; you guys are all comic book and movie characters. Superheroes. And I hate to admit it, but I'm a bit obsessed. But not as obsessed as some people." I added when Peter raised an eyebrow. "I don't have any shrines or anything. That would be weird. Anyway, I basically know all of you by heart, weakness, personalities, strengths, histories, ect. I also read about… um… a group of super heroes. They made a movie for them too. So know I'm guessing we're in SHIELD headquarters."

Johnny and Peter backed up a bit, but Logan just scowled.

"Don't freak out! I don't know absolutely everything! I won't use it against you!" I exclaimed. I would definatly do that if someone told me they knew me by heart. They still seemed a bit uncomfortable. Guess I'll have to earn their trust then.

I sighed, and pulled of my boots. The small space I was in was a nice temperature, but I out on my sweatshirt anyway. I pulled one of my boots closer to me, and tipped it upside down with a shake. A small packet of crayons, my old MP3Player, my phone, a triple A battery, lighter, and a multitool knife fell out. I frowned, and looked around the room, spotting a camera in the corner. I pulled my stuff under it, so I was near the conjunction of all four small spaces. I pulled out the back of my MP3Player sadly, and took a nice long look at the microchip. A satisfying 16 GBs where in there. I pushed it back in quickly before deleting all my songs. I then proceeded in taking it apart, along with the battery and sadly, my phone. But I knew exactly what I was going to make. I started to melt one of the crayons, and put the hot residue in the shell of the MP3Player container. I ripped the keyboard (with a lot of willing and determination) out of my flip phone, and set it down with my torn apart MP3Player. After a little bit longer, I had torn apart my phone too. Peter was now peeking through his glass wall at what I was doing. Honestly, I couldn't remember what I did up to this point, but I do remember using my knowledge of technology to build some sort of machine. It had two small screens, a very tiny keypad, and small speakers from my ear buds. I knew that the camera was going to be connected to a computer somewhere, and maybe even a mainframe. I used the crayon residue, a swirl of rainbow shavings, but mostly grey, to cover it and hold it together. I even used my ear bud plug in to find a spot in the camera. I left my machine on the floor and pushed the small bench that there was over underneath the camera.

I then stood on the bench and latched my machine onto the camera. And waited. And waited. I was on that bench for a while. Just waiting. Johnny had fallen asleep, his mouth was hanging open a bit, and I found it quite amusing to watch him flail around. I had no idea what he was dreaming about. Logan was still hard at work, though he had hardly penetrated the outer layer of the glass. I could see the small – but thin– line he and made, and calculated it would take him about a year to break through all the way at this rate. Peter was glancing at my machine like it would blow up any second. My machine, on the other hand; was using multiple access codes a minute and I have to say, I was quite proud of it. I had been planning on getting a degree in collage for mechanics and technological design.

"How long do you think we've been here?" I asked.

"About 12 or so hours." Peter said quietly.

I looked up at my machine again, and saw the screen was flashing. That was good. I stood up and plucked it off the camera, and slipped it into my boot before starting to push bench around again. After a while, I found a comfortable spot. It was a small spot in the corner of Johnny's cell and the window into the empty hall way that surrounded our little honeycomb. We all just sat in silence, not moving or talking much. After a while I got bored and hummed 'Fade Away' by Zack Hemsey. But it was mostly just an eerie quiet, surrounded by a silent white noise, like the hum of a generator in the middle of winter.

After what seemed like decades, a man came into the room. He had dark skin and a bald head, but the thing that stuck out most to me was the eye patch perched on his face. I immediately recognized him from the movie. Nick Fury. What have I done now? Did they find out about me trying to hack into the main frame through the camera? I could only hope that they hadn't.


	2. Chapt 2: Depression and Icecream

I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat and tried not to think about what would happen if he _did _find out.

"Hello?" I offered helplessly.

The man's face remained a black slate. Just as I expected.

"If you would please come with me, I have some questions to ask you." He said, looking at me with his working eye. He was more unnerving in real life. I nodded, and followed easily. I was actually surprised he didn't cuff me or anything. I obediently followed him to a small plain white room. There were two chairs and that was it. He indicated a chair, and I sat. Fury kept standing. He started asking questions sooner than I'd thought, but I was ok with it, because I was going to tell him the truth. I knew there was no hope in lying here.

"Do you have any idea how you came here?" Fury asked.  
"I actually think I do." I answered him. "The Tesseract I presume? Why where you guys messing around with it?" I asked.  
"It was a natural occurrence; we had no control over it. How do you know about the Tesseract?"

I swallowed another lump in my throat and took a deep breath.

"Ok, I know this is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but you're going to have to believe me ok?"  
"Try me."  
"Well, so I came through a portal right? I had my own world to live in, nice house, nice family, good friends; blah, blah, blah. The thing is, I know basically, and I have you at _basically, _everything because I had comic books, cartoons, movies, heck; even action figures. In my world at least. I read as much I could. So here I am explaining this to you." I said. "And you can hook me up to a lie machine or do whatever you spy people here at S.H.I.E.L.D do, but I swear it's the truth. I can tell you all about my buddies back in the otherworldly beings joint. But I don't want to tell you anything from the future just in case things don't end up the way they're supposed to. " I finished.  
"Could you inform us more about your 'buddies'?" Fury asked when I finished.  
I nodded, and explained everything from their origins to the deepest depths of their powers. On the inside I felt bad, because I had promised not to tell anyone about it.  
"You can trust them." I said as I finished. "I can keep an eye on Logan; he's easy enough to calm down. I've heard you've been having problems with Banner, I want to keep that weight of your shoulders."

Nick leaned back in his seat. "So you want to keep an eye on them for us?" He asked.  
"Yes?"

It was hard to tell what the man was thinking, especially with the blank look on his face. He stood and left before I could say another word. I sighed, trying to figure out if I was supposed to stay in the chair or not. But he returned before I could make a decision.

"This is a big risk on my part, but I have decided to let you do as you have requested. We're moving you to an apartment complex near the Hudson. We'll be able to get there if you need us."

"Ok… just one request. Two… maybe three cameras outside. None inside. All surveillance videos of this conversation gone. Any info about all four of us on paper and ready to be destroyed at a moment's notice and held under the heaviest lock and key you have. I'm… iffy on traitors and inside jobs; even if you're one of the greatest secret agencies in the world. And I can find Stark and ask him to see if you did as I asked. I'm asking nicely." I said, remembering what happened in the Winter Soldier with Hydra and SHIELD falling apart. I didn't want them to know about me. And even after threatening Fury, I still felt unsettled. Mostly because I threatened him. Kind of.

He leaned back in his seat again, raising his eyebrow.

"Come with me, we'll get you set up." He said with a nod.  
"So you listen to me? Just like that?" I asked, surprised.  
"This is a big risk on my side, but right now we're low on recourses, and we need the materials in those cells for other things. We also need a few more hands if it comes to that point."

We walked down the hallway quietly for a few more feet before I started talking again.

"So what big has happened recently? I kinda know we're a bit after Thor swung threw that little town in New Mexico, but there is still a lot that could've happened. Like… are you… oh wait no."  
"It's May seventeenth. Captain Rogers woke up not long ago. He's still adjusting to this new environment. Maybe you can help him sort things out."

I counted the days on my fingers. Only about a week until Loki came if I remembered the timeline I had taken time to look up before.

We entered the room just as I finished my estimation, and everyone's attention was directed to us as we came in. I kept walking forward as I tried to figure out what I would do. Fury paced over to a control panel and opened the other cell doors. Both Peter and Johnny heaved a sigh of relief when the doors opened, and walked out and stretched dramatically. Logan simply grunted.

"You can owe me thanks." I said to him, looking at my fingernails casually. "I got us a bit of a ticket out of here and a place to stay for the meanwhile."

He laughed a bit at my sarcasm, though I could see he was a bit annoyed by my comment.

"Does anyone have clean shoes? Mine are wet." Johnny said, holding up a pair of shiny black boots, which where dripping water onto the floor. I could hear a small amount of liquid sloshing about inside.

_**oOoOo**_

The four of us stood in front of a small apartment complex. There was a row of three on the bottom, and three on top. They had chipped paint letters on the doors, which were old boards. I assure you, it was structurally sound. Behind it was the Hudson River, which stunk terribly. I was still plugging my nose actually. We had been dropped off by a SHIELD van, which was currently pulling out of the four car parking lot. I had thankfully been given back my backpack (and I had even slipped out my machine!) and an extra pair of sweats and a T-shirt. The boys had gotten that along with anything else they had came with; which included Peter's web shooters and mask to my relief. In the end I found myself walking up the stairs to apartment number 4. I have no idea why; but I was drawn to it.

The door opened easily, though I was aware there was a lock. The entry way was a tiny living room. An under stuffed and ripped blue couch sat in the middle of the room, a few formerly white pillows and a blanket sitting on top. A small box TV and blue ray player sat on an ancient looking table, along with a remote, which had been strewn among a small amount of movies that sat on the floor. Straight across from the door was a window that probably overlooked the muddy Hudson. There was a crowded kitchen of to my right, just as soon as I entered. It possessed a two stove burner and oven underneath, as well as a small sink and fridge that where wedged right next to each other. Over the sink was a window that overlooked the parking lot, which was surprisingly large from where I was standing. I could see the boys slowly exploring our new environment. On the counter where the keys and a few folders I could look through later. I continued down a small hallway to my left, which had a small closet and another window that overlooked the parking lot. I continued to the end of the short - but narrow - hallway, which couldn't have been more than six or seven feet long at most. I opened the door to see a midsized bedroom. A queen sized bed and bedside table sat on the far wall. A fourth window gave a surprisingly stunning view of the Hudson and the city on the other side.

It had a small screen door, which I opened. I could've probably walked through it due to the way I could see half of it swing off when I opened it. The balcony was small; it could probably only hold a potted plant at most. I went back inside to find a small bathroom; which included a sink, shower, and toilet. The water seemed to be working well to my surprise. Overall, it was shabby; but I would survive.

I found a first aid kit and other basic supplies under the sink, but for some reason the fridge was empty except for a small salad and sandwich. The cupboards where bare of any utensils, food, spices, or anything at that matter.

My biggest question was why they had given me a few movies but not enough food to survive two days.

Sometimes other people's logic confused me.

It was just then I heard someone knock on the door. I rushed back out of the hallway to see none other than Steve Rogers poking his head through the door.

"Hello?" He called.  
"Oh hi!" I answered, stammering.  
"This probably isn't any of my business, but what does a kid like you have with SHIELD?" He asked quizzically, stepping inside the door to shake my hand.  
"It's kinda complicated… There was an accident thing I got involved in, it's nothing _big_." I said, thinking '_yet' _afterwards. "Have you met Logan and the boys yet?" I asked. "I'm Carmaline by the way, Carmaline Woodward. Who are you?"

I tried to sound like I didn't know him, even though did. I had a freaking comic about him sitting in my backpack! He was _the _Captain America!

"Steve Rogers." He answered. "Yeah, I met them a few minutes ago. They seem nice."  
I smirked at that. But instead of saying anything cocky I asked him; "What got you mixed up with SHIELD?"  
"Nothing much." He teased.

Then we heard someone laughing; accompanied by a wild yelp of surprise. We rushed outside to see Johnny (on fire!) chasing Peter about the parking lot with a flaming hand stretched out. Peter was constantly vaulting cars to get away, while Logan was laughing ferociously on the sidelines.

"I got this." I said, leaving Steve to wonder why Johnny was on fire and why Peter was vaulting cars.

I walked down the stairs and turned on the hose I had spotted earlier. I held the other end closed, feeling the pressure build up behind my hand as I strode confidently into the middle of the parking lot. Just as Johnny ran in front of me I let go of the end of the hose, letting an icy blast of water collide with him and sputter his flame.

Then I shouted "Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm! You do not chase your fellow mutanized teenagers around a parking lot! Especially in public!"

He turned beet red at the sound of his full name. Logan laughed harder, and I even earned a chuckle from Steve. Peter was hunched over on the other side of the parking lot; though I could see the smirk on his face as he stood up.

"Thanks." He stammered. I smiled about at that, knowing that he wasn't that used to talking to girls like me.  
"Anytime. It actually felt good." I answered, throwing the hose back to the side of the apartment.

I walked back up into my apartment, letting Steve talk and adjust to his new roommates.

I only hoped that the people from the complex across the street didn't see anything.

In the end I went to the bedroom and sat on the blue sheets of the bed, dumping the contents of my bag beside me. I laid out my comic, laptop, water bottle, extra clothes - which included a pair of jeans, another T-shirt, and socks, as well as flip flops – two movie tickets, my nice iPod, my machine, a candy bar (I was going to smuggle it into the theater), some change (along with a twenty dollar bill I had forgotten about somehow), my flashlight, and some spare trash that I dumped in the garbage bin in the kitchen. In all, all the money I had was twenty dollars and thirty seven cents. Definatly not enough to pay a rent, though I'm sure SHIELD would pay for it. Until they fell apart that was.

I walked outside and told Steve I was going to get a job. He was half surprised but half happy, so I took that as a good thing. The boys where nowhere in sight.

I trudged down the sidewalk with my money, soon finding a job reshelving books at the library, as well as working at the counter and cash register of both a diner and small grocery store. In all I managed to get about ten bucks from the library, fifty from the diner and sixty from the store; which added up to a grand total of about a hundred and twenty. I felt very proud. I worked a few hours the first day as well. The librarian I worked for was nice enough, as well as the shop owner; but the guy who owned the diner was a bit of a downer.

All in all, I assumed I could pay for a rent if I saved up. Maybe I could get an internship later on, though I didn't plan on starting school since the '_big problem' _was going to happen in no less than seven days.

I arrived back at the apartment at around dinner, where I heard Logan and Peter had gone to find jobs as well, leaving Johnny the only one there since Steve had went to an old wrestling ring to work out. I had come back with a bag of food, and I felt good about myself.

I bought a cooked chicken, eggs, a pan, a few cups and plates (paper ones), some fruits and veggies. In short, enough to survive the next week, since I had no idea if my apartment would survive it. Oh gosh. I'm getting possessive of the apartment aren't I? I'm never gonna wanna leave!

After I finished unloading I plugged my laptop into the TV and turned on the second Spider-man. Yes I had downloaded it. Yes me and Rebecca where going to watch it the rest of the night afterwards. Yes, I am watching it with the real Spider-man probably right under me this very second. Why? I wanted to watch it.

I turned it on and sat on the couch with nothing but the blanket. Personally; the first thirty minutes felt like a rush. Then Peter and Gwen broke up, and then I felt depressed and started eyeing the freezer and utensil drawer. (Yes, I will end up eating a tub of ice cream) Then Harry got pissed and I got pissed and then they fought and then Max went nuts and everything fell apart, and then they got back together again, and then I felt depressed and actually got the tub of ice cream.

And then the big thing came.

Gwen tumbled through the glass dome of the clock tower, and Peter launched himself and managed to catch her before she hit the catwalk. Then a blur of fighting began and before I knew it I knew what was going to happen, and I started crying; and then Gwen fell and hit the floor and I started crying even harder and then the movie ended and I just started bawling. Literally bawling out loud for the whole entire freaking world to hear me scream about a universe that isn't real, yet the guy who has suffered it or will suffer it is currently knocking my door and asking what's wrong.

Oh crap.

I got off the floor and wiped the tears out of my eyes, grabbed the ice cream bin and sat on the couch.

"Come in!" I called, though it sounded more like I was choking.

"Are you ok?" It was Johnny. I sighed in relief.  
"What's wrong?" It was Peter. I nearly choked on my ice cream again.

"Oh… nothing really… just mourning over fate that's all." I half wailed, the plastic spoon I was using getting stuck in the bin. "It's just… some stupid comic book writers have absolutely no idea how much it makes me go insane!" I squeaked as they stepped into the room. "I mean… screw storyboard! Let's ruin someone's life with more loss and have them overcome it by defying the stupid news crews and supervillians!" I was a bit hysterical, which was a bit embarrassing. "Let's follow the stupid comics! Yeah! And disappoint hundreds of people! And the main person being affected by it! Naw, they won't care! I'm sorry! Gosh darn freaking dang it! Ignore me! Forget about your destiny with love and totally forget this ever happened ok!? Why'd I have to download it? Couldn't I have waited and never have to have told you? No I can't! Oh I can't!"

I had thrown the blanket to the floor and was pacing furiously. I probably looked like an idiot.

"What?" Johnny asked, now thoroughly confused.  
"What?..." Peter asked. I could tell he had the slightest idea of I was talking about.  
"You!" I jabbed my spoon at Peter, which promptly broke when it poked him. "Your fate! I'm having an episode right now it happens! Don't worry! Let me go sulk and I might tell you about broken love someday, but not now! I feel terrible!" I wailed. And then I started bawling again. And then I just stopped, put the ice cream in and broken spoon in the trash and marched down the hallway to the bedroom hollering "Don't go out tonight Peter! I wouldn't be able to handle myself!" and then I came back out and unplugged my laptop before escaping back into the bedroom again.

"Oh!" I yelled. "I made cookies! Their on the counter! Don't mind me!"


	3. Chapt 3: Bonding and Closed Windows

I yawned and sat up in the bed, stretching. I looked around, expecting to be on my friend Rebecca's floor. But then I remembered. The orb, the accident, the hose, and then breaking down and going to sleep. And the empty bin of ice cream in the garbage can. And my laptop on the floor and the Hudson River outside the window that wasn't even mine. Everything.

And it was amazing.

But I wasn't going to get caught off guard. Not this time.

I stood up and walked to the cramped kitchen, starting to cook myself some eggs. When I finished them I plopped them on a paper plate and sat at the counter, stuffing my face as I started a schedule.

_Make list_

_Go to dump_

_Earn the boys' trust_

_Go to the wrestling ring with Steve_

_Get special defense classes_

_Get transportation_

_Get paint_

_Get someone to help me with metal (Johnny?) _

_PLAN_

I then made a calendar with seven days, checking off the first.

In the second box I wrote:

_Ring with Steve  
Dump  
Paint  
Work  
Decoration_

In the third box I wrote:  
_Ring with Steve  
Dump?  
Johnny  
Bonding  
Work_

The fourth I wrote:

_Ring with Steve  
Dump?  
Transportation (Motorcycle?)  
Johnny  
Bonding  
Work_

I continued on in the same fashion until I came to the seventh and last box.

_**BE PREPARED!**_

I sighed inwardly, gathering my plate and fork and dumping them in the garbage before stretching and yawning again. I got dressed in my shorts and T-shirt before glancing at the bedside clock. Seeing it was an early 7:32. I went outside quietly, though I doubted it would make much of a difference with the boys' acute senses. I walked outside and stretched in the early morning air for a final time. After a few more minutes Steve came out and accepted my request to come to the ring with him, where I learned some valuable lessons. He even let me land a few punches on him for good measure, though I'm sure they didn't hurt him. After I said farewell and let him get to his bag punching I booked a spot in a taekwondo class, which felt good during the sample. Then finally I headed towards the nearest dump, scavenging.

I was looking for metal. Thin stainless steel. Non magnetic. For a good reason too. I managed to get a lot of pieces, though I would probably have to swing by tomorrow. I swung back by the apartment to drop off my scraps and then went back out to the small shopping center nearby. I bought a motorcycle helmet. It had no mouth cover, which was an advantage on my side. I wanted to breathe. Everyone needs to breathe right? It also had a teal tinge to the glass that flipped over the eyes. I also bought black and teal paint, as well as a lot of thin stretchy fabric.

My big plan was very stupid. A far shot at most. But there was absolutely no way I wasn't going to help save the world especially if I could. As someone great said; with great power comes great responsibility. Yes, I was quoting someone. My power (no, I'm human. I assure you. It's like a state of mind kinda deal) was that I knew what was going to happen for about the next year. But after that I was at total loss, which bummed me out a bit. I would never be able to introduce myself as the nut job genius who knew the future to Ant-Man. Shame. Too bad I had to come here before that one came out.

I arrived back at the apartment and dumped everything in the closet in the bedroom. And then I grabbed more paper and the measuring tape that came in the first aid kit and planned. I made measurements, and cut and looked at my metal to see what shapes I might be able to bend them into. I repainted the helmet, and started sewing the under layer of my suit. I had bought a kavalar spandex that melted when it came into contact with heat. I was quite proud.

I had never been much of a craftsman, but I knew any seams I left open would be covered by the metal. I hoped at least. At last I had finished the kavalar part, and put it in the bag of scrap metal.

I have to admit, I was nervous about talking to Johnny – or even being in the same room with him – after the episode with the hose. I had though all day about what I should say. I had even asked Steve for help; which was a long shot in my book. But I was still unsure of what to say. But alas, before I knew it the bag had been slung over my shoulder and I was knocking on his door.

I immediately regretted it, nervousness taking me over. I had humiliated the Human Torch, and I wasn't apologizing until two days later. Was he mad at me? He had come up last night when I was deeply depressed about Peter's future, though I didn't tell either of them what was wrong. What would he do? What the heck would I do?

Before I could speculate any further, the door opened. I was surprised; though I expected it. He had been shown as a bit lazy in the comics. And cartoons. And movies.

He smiled. It was that same shy smile when we had first met on the Helicarrier.  
"Hi."  
"Um… Hi. Sorry about the other day. It's just; people here won't need or respect people like you for another week. And even then some will still have doubts. I just don't want anything to happen so early into us getting here. If those kids say Logan's claws, or Pete climbing the walls; or even the smallest spark come out of your finger they'd probably freak out." I gestured to a small group of kids playing in the yard of the next door apartment. One was wearing an Iron man mask and hand gauntlet toy. He even wore a _Stark Expo _Sweatshirt. He was running around the lawn with another little boy carrying a plastic Captain America shield.

Johnny nodded in understanding; which took me off guard.  
"You wanna come in?" He asked, gesturing inside as he pushed the door open wider.  
"Yeah actually;" I said, "I need some help with some stuff, you're like the first person I thought of."  
"What with?" He asked as I entered. "What did you mean by another week?"

I blushed as I realized my slip; which only made his smile grow into a cheeky grin.

"I'm onto something." He said, grin now like a Cheshire Cat's.  
"Well…" I began. "So in my universe;" I gestured to the roof, and above the sky, "There was this movie called the Avengers. Earth's mightiest heroes and whatnot. And it was mainly the thing that brought me into liking Marvel, which is the comic and now movie making group that basically invented you."  
He looked confused; but I continued anyway.  
"Anywho, I watched it and looked up a Marvel timeline, blah blah… and now a big alien invasion is going to happen in about… five days."

Johnny's eyes widened and he stood, and started to pace.

"Don't tell anyone! I needed your help because one, I know who's gonna start it, and two because I know what's gonna happen for about the next year. But after Thor comes back from Asgard for a second time, I'm lost and it's up to the world. And I am not going to stand by and let people die from this. I want to help! I know karate and some stuff, and Steve's teaching me some moves; and maybe I can get something out of Peter or the taekwondo class I'm going to take. I'm gonna make armor. I just need you to melt the metal so I – maybe you… I might burn myself – can bend it into shape."  
"So you want to be a super hero?" He asked, anguished and surprised.  
"Yes." I deadpanned, crossing my arms after plopping the bag on the floor with a metallic clank.

"Ok…" He drifted. "Why?"  
"I told you. Can you help me or not?"  
"Yeah! Just… tell me more while I do this for you. And you owe me."  
"I know."

I took the kavalar and a few pieces of metal out of the bag, which he heated in his hand. Then I – sometimes he – bent it and pressed it gently into place on the kavalar; which melted and stuck to the metal. I told him more about Loki, Thor, and everyone we'd probably be seeing in the next week. Less than a week. I also told him what I knew about Logan and Peter.

"How old are you?" I asked.  
"Seventeen. You?"  
"Sixteen. I plan on getting a dirt bike. I used to drive one back home in Texas. My friend Rebecca and I would sometimes ride them to the movie theater." I smiled at a few memories that had managed to flick their ways before my eyes.

Johnny laughed before turning to the last scrap of metal we would be using, since the other turned out useless. By the time we finished, the front and back and an arm had been finished. I pulled out some paint and Johnny sat and watched.  
"You like music?" He asked.

I nodded and he turned on the TV.

"I see you've been putting yourself to _some _use all this time while we were out getting jobs. I recommend you get one too." I laughed.

The song 'Beating Heart' by Elli Goulding came on the TV, having Johnny turned on a radio station.

"I wanna hear your beating heart. One last time." I sang along, smiling to myself as I remembered me and Rebecca dancing and singing that song in her redneck truck. I laughed to myself.  
"What's so funny?" Johnny asked.  
"Oh nothing. Just more memories of dancing on a redneck truck to this song. "

He laughed too.  
"You did that?"  
"Yah' darn right I did." I said as I finished.

I held it up, proud of my work.

"I'm going to have to get more metal for the other arm and lags tomorrow." I said before waving goodbye and sighing in relief on how it went.

I had been afraid I would turn into a stammering mess. And the funny thing was; I kinda liked him. But I shook it off and waved to Steve as he entered the parking lot in front of our apartment and setting my things back inside mine. I went back outside. The sun was just starting to set and made the world glow a settling gold color. A few little girls and boys where drawing with chalk on the sidewalk nearby. One waved at me; and I smiled and waved back. I had a wad of money in my pocket; now almost four hundred, and headed towards a shop I had seen a dirt bike at. I would get to check something off my list early. I got a dirt bike with a damaged cover. I was going to use the extra scraps to fix it. I bartered and got it for three hundred and fifty, which was actually a pretty good deal. But it would need fixing. Lots of fixing. I was able to ride it as well, and it went pretty fast to my genuine pleasure. I had brought my motorcycle helmet and wore it on the way back to the apartment. I walked it to the backside and set aside everything else I had to save up.

I stood on the deck outside my tiny room for a while and spotted Stark Tower on the other side of the river. Before I went to sleep I spotted Peter leaving and swinging over the bridge.

After that I slipped into my bed again and had a fitful dream.

_**oOoOo**_

_I was running through a deserted city street. Paper and ashes flickered around me, some alighting before extinguishing. I was wearing my suit… costume… whatever you want to call it. The ground was littered with overturned cars and rubble. And dead alien bodies. From the movie I realized. Gold armor and energy guns and everything to its glory. Johnny was beside me, hand over his eyes as if to block out the sun. Logan was ahead of us, seemingly tracking something. I glanced behind us; and my eyes nearly popped out of my sockets. Iron Man was on the ground, being helped up by Steve. Hawkeye and the Black Widow had joined the group. Thor was standing of to the side, a look of concern directed towards us. Then I realized who was missing. _

_As if on cue, my dream self screamed a name._

"_Peter!" _

_My voice was frightened, on edge, and raspy. _

"_Peter!" I called again, this time my voice faltering as I lowered myself to the ground in a shivering shaking mess. _

_I half expected him to come swinging in at any moment, a quip at the ready; but nothing came. There was no sound of the web shooters firing or the patter of his feet on the sides of a broken building. No flash of red and blue. No cheery voice answering. _

"_Peter!?"_

_My voice was now mangled as I felt tears dripped through the visor on the helmet. _

"_I'll see if I can track him through the comns." A voice said beside me. _

_I looked up to see Iron Man replacing the face plate onto the rest of his helmet. He stood still a second before taking off, Logan launching himself in the same direction. Everyone else followed, including me. Johnny and Thor took to the air and Hawkeye, the Black Widow, Steve and me ran behind Iron Man and Logan. _

_We ran for what seemed like forever before Iron Man stopped at the entrance of a subway looking escalade. Logan however continued and ran into it. I followed Logan, ignoring everyone else pleas to stop and see if it was safe. I didn't care. I turned a corner right after Logan howled in rage. And then everything went black._

_**oOoOo**_

I woke up in a cold sweat, jolting upright as I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. My hair had most likely grown crazy during the night. I glanced at the window and then at the bedside clock to see it was almost four in the morning. I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. I knew it.

The vividness of the dream I had was still haunting me. But I knew better. It would never happen. It was just a dream.

"Please be just a dream." I said to myself.

I pushed myself out of the bed and stretched. Afterward I slipped on my Jurassic Park shirt and then shorts I had been wearing the day before. I also went to the rare measure of pulling my hair into a messy bun. I took another glance out the window, marveling at the lights that the city still showed. Stark Tower shone like a beacon. They _all_ shone brightly against the sky, blocking out the stars, which upset me a bit. I wondered into the living room and turned on the TV, surfing the channels.

Just as I found a good channel I heard someone walking up the stairs. They had obviously been trying to be quite, but the creaky old stairs didn't give on that ability. And someone knocked on my door.

I stood and opened it, rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes.

"Hia." I said sleepily.  
Peter stood in front of the door sheepishly.  
"Oh my gosh! Get in here!" I exclaimed when I realized he was still in costume.  
He stepped in and I quickly shut the door and turned on the lights.  
"I couldn't get inside my apartment. The door fell shut." He muttered shyly, glancing at the red mask in his hands.  
"What happened to you?" I asked quietly, noticing his bruised face and a slash across his arm.  
"Mugger." He answered, still looking towards the ground. "With a knife."  
"I thought you weren't afraid of 'small kitchen knives'" I mocked playfully.

He grinned and looked at me.

"Sit down." I ordered him, pointing at the couch."I'm getting the first aid kit."

"What!? No!" He stood up but I pushed him back down and rolled my eyes.  
"I know you have your super fast healing; but it could get infected." I answered him.

So I found the first aid kit and helped him.


	4. Chapt 4: Machine Guns and Anticipation

I yawned, surprised and unaware that I had fallen asleep. I was in my bed.

Or, my borrowed bed.

I walked out into the hallway and saw the window was open, as well as two plates that sat on the counter. I absentmindedly checked the list and calendar on the fridge.

All that remained unchecked was _'earn trust' _and _'get transportation', _though I crossed the second out because I had forgotten to the day before.

I grimaced as I saw three days left on the calendar. I still had to fix my dirt bike and go to the dump; and defiantly finish the suit with Johnny. There was no way I was missing any of the special defense classes or work outs with Steve, even though I helped on my grandparents farm all of the time and had taken special defense and swimming lessons when I was young. I remembered me and Rebecca at the karate place; seeing who could punch a bag farthest. I managed to make mine swing a bit on its hinges, but I fell over. Rebecca had the same result.

I smiled at the memory, turning around to see Peter sitting on the couch. I had almost forgotten that he had come over last night.

I smiled again when I remembered him telling me his window had slid shut.

"Hey." I said,  
"Hi." He answered.  
"Do anymore crime fighting while I was zonked?" I asked sarcastically, putting some extra eggs from the other day in the small microwave.  
"Nope. I usually stop at around midnight anyway, unless something big goes on."  
"Huh. Duly noted." I said. "You hungry?"

He nodded, taking the plate from my outstretched hand. As he did that I walked over to the window and gazed out at the city beyond. I closed my eyes, letting the early morning sunlight filter onto my face. The image of the beautiful city smoking caused my eyes to snap open, and I whirled around, my plate nearly toppling in my hands.

"What is it?" Peter asked, his head snapping up as I made the sudden movement.  
"I need to tell you something." I blurted, abandoning my eggs on the counter.

His eyebrow rose as a curious smirk crossed his face.  
"What?"

I evaluated the best way to explain, but instead I came out clean and simple.  
"There is going to be an alien invasion in three days." I held out three fingers.  
His face paled and he appeared to lose his appetite.  
"You're serious?"  
"Dead serious. We came a week before the movie; the Avengers. That's why I've been all out and about mostly. I don't want to be caught off guard. I just wanted to let you know."

* * *

He'd taken it quite well; I think. I soon left to go learn more from Steve, work, get my classes done, and work some more. I had come back to the apartment and finished the suit with Johnny and I was now cleaning the dirt bike engine. I don't think I was doing very well.

"Need some help there?"

I turned around to see Logan standing outside of his door. I assumed it was his door.  
"Yeah... I suck at engines. Could you help- by like any chance?"  
He laughed.  
"I've had some practice in my time."

He strode over, pointing things out as I did them; helping me put this there, fix this and that.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.  
"Well, assuming you really do know everything about me...you should probably know I've been in a lot of wars." Logan frowned, but I nodded in acknowledgement.  
"You gotta learn some things if you want to be in the army kid."  
I nodded again, now remembering that he'd been in almost every war since the civil war.  
"You must know a might lotta things." I said.  
He laughed again, the frown turning upward into a toothy grin. They looked sharp. No wonder they called him Wolverine.

"I like you kid. What'd you say your name was?" He asked.  
"Carmaline." I grinned. "Though people call me Carma for short."

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur.

I befriended Logan more. Peter would give me some parkour tips and such when I asked, knowing full well why I was asking. I started running early in the morning, then meeting Steve at the wrestling arena when I finished to keep up my endurance. After that I'd go work at the cash register. Then my defense classes and the other two jobs I had.

I was like a machine.

A well oiled machine that knew that in a few days the world would fall apart.

And I'd be right in the middle of it.

But it didn't scare me. I was surprised, really. I wasn't afraid of what was going to happen. I even had a competitive rock making it's home in the pit of my stomach. But on that last day it started to build up. I had the suit in my backpack, the helmet making it bulge, though no one would notice, since they thought it was my laptop or something. Anxiety started crashing in because I knew; tomorrow I might be standing side by side with some of the world's greatest heroes. I might be battling creepy looking aliens, and helping civilians out of collapsing buildings and doing what I had dreamed of doing ever since two thousand and twelve.

It was also the excitement. My childhood dreams might just come true, and maybe all of the comic books before bed will have paid off. I'd spent years dreaming, hoping, waiting... and here it was.

When someone knocked on the door I felt my heart race, hoping it would be who I hoped it was.

And it was.

It was Phil Coulson. It was early in the day, he probably wouldn't be going to Stark Tower for another couple of hours. I felt anticipation build up.

"Hello Ms. Woodward."  
"Hello Agent Coulson." I mimicked his tone of voice, calming myself. I kept my face dead serious, though he could probably see my cheeks turning red.  
"Director Fury would like to see you and your friends at SHIELD headquarters. It is my responsibility to take you there."

I nodded as he gestured towards a familiar van parked in the parking lot. I saw Johnny getting in, and he waved as I clambered down the steps. The kids across the street watched in interest as the van pulled out and left.

I gazed out of the tinted windows, letting the excitement growing in me out in a huge grin.

"Someone seems happy."

I turned to see Johnny grinning right along with me, a small duffel bag sitting at his feet.

"Why wouldn't I be? Tomorrow is going to be the biggest day of my life, something I've been dreaming about ever since I pulled my first comic book out of the wrapping paper." I almost squealed, but instead resorted to a jubilant laugh. "And I'm not afraid. Because I know we'll pull through."  
"That's a big vote of confidence." Peter said, also shouldering a messenger bag.  
I nodded vigorously. "It's supposed to be."  
He sighed, his joke backfiring.

Soon we arrived at an air field, and I got out first. We got into a Quin Jet (sadly, there were no windows) and the door closed. Peter started looking nervous. Johnny looked nervous as well, but Logan was unreadable. I was just happy.

And excited.

And maybe a bit anxious.

But I didn't let that stop me. I was literally grinning the whole entire time, from the second we took off to the second we touched down. After that we walked onto another airfield. It took a second to realize it wasn't in fact an air field, but actually an aircraft carrier. It felt awfully familiar. We joined a group of three people. One was a red haired agent, handgun holstered on her hip. A curly haired man with glasses was also there, and of course Steve. It was just like I remembered.

"Better go inside, it's going to get hard to breathe soon." The agent said.  
"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked, looking over the edge of the aircraft carrier suspiciously. Below us the water had started to churn. Everyone stood curiously at the edge.  
"They want me underwater in a pressurized, metal container?" The other man said, just as suspiciously; though I could catch a hint of sarcasm that floated through the air.  
"Nope." I said, my grin now the size of a Cheshire Cat's. I was bouncing up and down on my heels excitedly.

We stumbled back a bit as we started to rise. Everyone's eyes grew huge in shock, even Logan's.

"Oh no! This is much worse!" The curly haired man said.

* * *

No sooner than we started to take on air we where herded inside by the red haired agent and Coulson. The last thing I saw before I was ushered inside was a bunch of flight crews buzzing franticly around on the deck. We walked through a long and daunting hallway, and, in general a _plain_ and _boring _hallway. And at the end there were two large double doors with the SHIELD insignia printed on them. My excitement was now taking over everything else.

We entered a room with a huge window overlooking the ocean, which was now miles below us. Agents in navy blue and black scurried about, doing this and that. Steve was zoned out- his eyes where glassy with amazement. Johnny didn't seem that fazed, and neither did Logan. The curly haired man - whom I now assumed was Bruce Banner - had positioned himself near the back of the room, as if to avoid attention. Peter's eyes where huge, his smile accompanying mine in size. I probably looked the same as him, if not nearly identical.

There where computers everywhere, some showing engines, others blueprints; and last but not least almost a dozen computers going over the same face, and one last going over another. In the center of it all stood the ring leader himself, Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. His hands hovered over hologram like screens, pressing multiple things until he stopped and turned around. Steve strode past him, but before he got too far away he fished a ten dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to Fury. Fury eyed it before sweeping it into his pocket and looking at the rest of us. His one eye zeroed in on poor Bruce.

"Dr. Banner, we are having trouble with finding the Tesseract."  
"Search for high levels of gamma radiation, but really any level helps at this point." Bruce said, taking a few steps forward to look at a nearby screen.

The red haired agent kneeled down to look at another computer, no doubt holding a face that I wish had made more of an appearance.

"Agent Romanoff, could you kindly escort Dr. Banner to his lab?" Fury said, making her avert her eyes and stand at attention.  
"You'll love it Doc, we got all the toys." She said before disappearing out the door with Bruce.

"We have a hit! Sixty-seven percent match. No, seventy-eight!" A nearby agent exclaimed, making my smile falter.  
"Where?" Fury asked, striding over to the computer to make sure.  
"Yeah, in Germany. He's not exactly hiding."  
Fury turned to Steve. "Rogers, get your suit; you're up."

I frowned, realizing things weren't going exactly like they had in the movie.

"What's wrong kid? A second ago it seemed like someone had thrown you a birthday party."

I looked over to see Logan looking at me. I shrugged it off, assuming it was just us being there.  
"Ah, nothing. Just letting it settle in; ya know?"

Nothing.

We all made ourselves comfortable at the table as we awaited Steve's return.

"He'll be alright. Right?" Peter asked.  
"Don't worry about him." I waved away his worry.

* * *

When I woke up it was almost eleven o'clock. I had drifted off at some point earlier on, thinking it would be best to get as much sleep as I could before the next day.

The reality of it all was finally setting in on me. I had explained to Peter and Johnny who everyone was while Logan simply read the files that Fury had plopped on the table before going back to his place at the steering wheel. I didn't remember much after that. I yawned, annoyed that my foot had fallen asleep. When I looked outside it was incredibly cloudy. Thor and agent Coulson stood near the window, most likely talking about Jane. Bruce was in the room again, and him and Peter were talking science while Johnny sat with a bored expression on his face, screwing around with a stray pen. Logan was observing his claws thoughtlessly, making them sheath and un-sheath constantly.

Fury had left and was probably interrogating Loki. I wasn't paying attention much, but then Thor came over and started talking as well, and, unannounced, Tony Stark entered the room.

I was only aware enough to hear one of my favorite quotes.

"-kickstart the whole thing." Tony was saying.  
"When did you become an expert on thermo nuclear astrophysics?" Agent Hill asked sarcastically.  
"Last night." Tony answered simply. He then went on to interrupt Bruce and Peter's discussion and 'fanboy' over Bruce's green side.

Then the Black Widow appeared out of nowhere, though she was already probably there and started talking about Loki and watching a hologram that had appeared on the table. Everyone seemed intrigued, though I just remained in the same spot I was, completely careless because I had heard his 'you call on these beings because you're so desperate' speech so many times I couldn't count. The amount was probably unhealthy at this point. Well, now it probably didn't matter.

Then Thor said; "He is my brother and he is of Asgard. I came here to deliver him back home."  
Then Natasha said, "He killed eighty people in two days."  
Then Thor turned red and muttered, "He's adopted."

I then snorted, making Tony turn towards me.  
"Sleeping beauty awakes!" He quipped, but I snorted again, my feet remained crossed and on the table while I tilted back in the swirly chair.  
"I've been awake long enough to see progress. Aren't you already dating Stark? Anyway I'm too young for you." I grinned.  
He laughed, but then calmed down a bit. "You say it like we're friends."  
"I already know you don't like 'Mr. Stark', because that was your father."  
"You got that right."

Out of nowhere Fury appeared, and told Tony and Bruce to go do something that sounded interesting, so I followed Peter, who followed Tony, who followed Bruce to the lab. It was large and spacious, and had a view from the back of the Helicarrier at the ocean below us. The first thing that caught my attention was Loki's scepter sitting by the window. It was a bit different then depicted in the movie, but I still recognized it.

When I saw it I gasped, making Tony laugh a bit.  
"Staff got your tongue?" He asked.  
"No, no. It's just. Wow..." I said slowly. "It's _the _Loki's scepter. Just wow."  
He raised an eyebrow but didn't question. He then started doing science stuff with Peter and Bruce while I just kept staring. I would normally have joined in, but I was amazed seeing something so important to the plot in front of me. The stone at it's top could even be the mind stone, one of the six infinity stones. Someday soon it would fall into the hands of HYDRA, and after that... I knew nothing. This thing was going to be a lot of places in the next year.

In the next year. I suddenly wanted to go home.

I shook it off and joined the boys, earning a half-on friendship with both Tony and Bruce. We started tracking the Tesseract using the radiation signals, and it was quite easy. But soon Tony started getting in Bruce's face, and another hologram beeped.

"You hacking SHIELD?" I asked, a smirk growing on my face as I gazed through my hologram and at the one Tony now stood at.

He nodded, whisking away an alert that appeared on the screen and trying again.

I remembered that about now Loki was being interrogated by the Black Widow.

It was coming. And it was coming soon. In a flash Tony had tazered Bruce and Peter had jumped on the ceiling with all of the anticipation off the Hulk building up. That made Tony laugh and Bruce groan, and then Steve was in the doorway, getting mad at Tony until he noticed me pushing over a chair and trying to help pry Peter off the ceiling.

Steve started scolding Tony, and Tony offered blueberries to everyone. I had some and Peter had some, but no one else did. Then suddenly everyone was in the room fighting; and everything was a blur. Tony started getting mad at SHIELD for designing weapons that could use the Tesseract. Then, out of nowhere, Steve appeared with this huge mini cannon gun dealio, and Logan started getting mad at Fury. Then Fury blamed Thor and Thor blamed everyone, and me, Peter and Johnny just sat back and watched the tension rise. Then Natasha said something about SHIELD monitoring threats that didn't seem to fit in anywhere. And before I knew it time seemed to slip away and it was the early morning. And then Bruce erupts with anger.

"Dr. Banner, I would ask you to _please put down the scepter." _

My eyes widened as I saw Fury and Natasha reaching for their hand guns. Bruce glanced down as everyone suddenly stared at him. He dropped the scepter back on the table and then Steve and Tony started fighting, and my face was in my hands in disbelief. And then the floor blew up.

I had nearly forgotten this part, so caught up in reliving the moment that it had slipped from my memory. Bruce and Natasha where nowhere to be seen, and I assumed the worst as I saw the gaping hole before me in the floor. Peter, Johnny, and me had been blown back into the table behind us. Fury ran from the room and Logan stood shocked and confused. Steve and Tony where already gone, but I could hear their fading footsteps in the hallway. I took off after them, not listening to Peter and Johnny calling me. I followed Tony to an empty room, ducking behind a crate as he activated the suit. I had worn the main part of the suit underneath, so I watched it start attaching itself to him as I slipped off my shirt and pants and pulled on my gloves, boots, and helmet.

"Tony!" I said, running to the door to make it seem as if I'd just come through. He turned around.  
"Carma?"  
I nodded. "Didn't want to be caught off guard with the crazy stuff. I'm helping fix the engine. I know how it works too." I said.

* * *

Tony had flown me to the engine and was telling me to tell him what was wrong through the comn while Steve stood near a red lever. Suddenly gunfire rained over the poor guy, and he fell off, just barely managing to grab a nearby cable that flailed in the wind.

"Steve!" I exclaimed, abandoning my post at the engine board and crawling over towards the lever.

I grabbed the machine gun that now lay on the catwalk at my feet. I picked it up, ignoring the height and pulled the trigger, struggling to hold it as the kickback nearly knocked me off balance. I only managed to scatter the new enemy soldiers, so I ducked behind the corner and turned my attention to Steve.

Steve yelled something into the comn, and I suddenly realized I heard Tony panicking over the earpiece. I held my hand out to Steve as he came closer, helping pull him in. We were both exasperated, and I pulled the lever as he tried to catch his breath. I heard an ominous loud clacking come to a halt and a whir as Tony suddenly flew through the air and ran into the last remaining soldier.

* * *

We all sat at the conference table.

Time had flown by so quickly, I had no idea what had happened until we sat down.

Agent Barton, or Hawkeye, was back, but Thor and Bruce had fallen to the earth that was now below us, though we where only on the coast now. And Coulson was (presumably) dead. Fury had managed to reel everyone left, which included me, Tony, Steve, Logan, Peter and Johnny into the Avengers. Johnny had also fought Bruce, and his suit was still generating a bit of heat. Peter had just barely missed Thor and was now feeling incredibly guilty; though Steve and I tried to assure him it wasn't his fault and that he'd be okay.

And before I knew it I was in the hangar with Clint, Natasha, Peter, Logan and Steve.

The anticipation built as Steve talked off the younger agent and we went inside.

We took off, Clint piloting while Tony and Johnny followed behind.

We were going to New York.

And I was going to fight in the Battle of Manhattan.

And for the first time since I had set foot onto the Helicarrier, I was afraid.


	5. Chapt 5: Beginings, Food, and Farewell

I heard the missile coming before it even came on the radar.

And yes, I had forgotten about this part as well. But at least I remembered it when I heard it right?

We were firing at Loki, but then an alien missile torpedo thing came from nowhere. Well, as I already said; I heard it come from nowhere.

So conveniently, I yelled, "_Duck for cover_!"

The Quin Jet went spiraling out of control. It did a corkscrew towards the ground, and when we landed; I thought I'd be sick. Luckily I wasn't. We where all kind of shocked, save for the fact that I had yelled about the incoming. Steve, Clint and Natasha seemed fine; Logan a bit wobbly; but me and Peter had been totally thrown off balance, so we came out leaning on each other. Natasha gave me a handgun, which surprised me a bit. But I took it anyway, so I wouldn't have to fist fight with aliens for their weapons.

I'd have to figure out how to use them. As if on cue the heavens quite literally opened up, and out came a swarm of aliens. On chariots being pulled by other aliens. How convenient could they get?

"'Kay guys? Things are about to get real, but not very real... that will happen later on." Everyone looked at me.  
"What?"

The six of us went down the street as a reign of blue fire rained down on the streets of New York. They landed left and right, and we all worked in sync, as if we'd done it for years. Peter would web an alien and pull it back, Steve or Logan taking a shot at it with their shield or claws. Clint, Natasha and me hit the long range, taking them down from a distance.

And even though I felt absolutely scared out of my mind; I felt amazing at the same time.

I was living my dream.

Clint, me and Steve found a bus that had been attacked, and evacuating the civilians. Clint and I would take children from the windows while Steve yanked open the doors. Natasha, Peter and Logan kept us covered while the people ran for cover as Steve had instructed them. Then we split up.

Steve told us to separate to cover more ground while Tony and Johnny, and Thor (whom had arrived a while before) bottlenecked the portal. Peter took the air, web swinging away gracefully. Clint took to a nearby rooftop, where he had a view of Stark Tower. Steve took off somewhere, probably to evacuate more people and get them into the subways. Logan just ran away; tearing up aliens as he went. Then me and Natasha went together. Half of it was because she offered.

And the other half was because I didn't want to be alone.

We made our way through the city, taking a stand on a bridge over the traffic lanes. And, as if on cue, things got real. I stopped and pressed into the comn in our moment of rest.

"Guys, things are about to get real. Very, very real."

Natasha rolled her eyes, but then let them grow wide as she saw the hulking beast flying through the sky. Steve called for everyone to meet near Grand Central Station. I followed Natasha there because I had no idea where it was. When I got there, Steve and Logan where already standing in the middle of the street. Peter swung in about the same time we arrived. Johnny and Thor where also already there. It had been the first time I had seen Johnny up close while he was on fire, so I was a bit surprised. Clint arrived soon after.

As if on cue, Bruce Banner arrived on a motorcycle.

"Well this all seems... terrible." Bruce said nonchalantly.  
"I've seen worse." Natasha inquired.  
"Sorry." Bruce smirked.  
"No, we could use a little... worse." She said.

A few minutes after we all grouped together; Tony's voice hummed through our comns.

"Guys, I'm bringing the party to you."

He burst from around the corner, a huge eel-like _thing _hot on his tail. It took everything in me not to imagine a happy birthday sign tied to the tail while Tony threw confetti.

"Banner, it's time for you to get angry." Steve declared.

I could see his shoulders sag a little bit, but he stood from his motorcycle and walked to the middle of the street.

He turned back once. "That's my secret captain... I'm always angry."

Bruce turned back to the opposing threat, as we all watched. The transformation was so fluid you would think that there was nothing wrong with him. That he'd been that way his whole life. But the best part was seeing everyone else's reactions. Peter kind of stumbled back a bit in surprise. Logan simply watched, as did Steve; though I could see his eyes widen. Thor grimaced; and Natasha just stepped back and did the same.

Bruce - or the Hulk - drove his fist into the thing's head, causing the plating above to fall apart from the sudden stop in momentum. Tony took the chance to fire a small torpedo or something to the unguarded area. The whole thing blew up. Natasha hovered behind Steve's shield, while Logan and Clint hid behind a nearby car, Clint readily notching an arrow. Johnny was perfectly fine, fire un-effecting to him as he strode towards me and Peter, who had taken shelter behind an overturned bus. Tony was and Bruce where perfectly fine as well. Thor hid from the flying debris with Peter and I.

When the commotion died down, roars (more like screeches) of anger were heard across the Manhattan skyline. Those were chorused with a few cheers from the people in the subways. We all stood in formation.

I felt awesome.

I found myself quietly humming the theme from the movie under my breath. Logan and Peter stood on either side of me. Johnny and Tony where hovering in the air as Bruce, Steve, Thor, Clint and Natasha closed the circle. Bruce roared back at the angry aliens. Then Steve turned around, making us form a sort of huddle.

"Iron Man, Spider-man, set a perimeter down to thirty ninth street. Hawkeye, shoot them from the sky. Torch, Thor; try and bottleneck the portal. Widow, Carma, Wolverine and me will keep evacuating people and clear the ground."  
"Call me Mechaa." I said of the top of my head.  
Steve nodded before turning to Bruce - the Hulk - as everyone split up. "And Hulk." Bruce whirled around. "Smash."  
He grinned before jumping into the sky with an angry roar and smashing aliens into the sides of buildings.

The last thing I heard before everything turned back into chaos was Tony saying; "Clench up Legolas."

I grinned.

Logan ran off as more creatures touched the ground, tearing them to pieces and obliterating their weapons before they could have a chance to react. Steve and Natasha ran off with me in tow, going back towards the bridge me and Natasha were at before. We all took on the swarm that had claimed it, soon making it out fortress. The chariots whizzed by ahead of us. I saw Natasha glance up at them as I finished the last alien, Steve saying something to me that I couldn't comprehend.

"Cap, I'm gonna need a lift." Natasha said.  
"Are you sure about this?" He asked uncertainly, instantly reading her thoughts.  
"Yeah, it'll be fun." She countered, making a smirk grow on my face.

Steve sighed, but crouched anyway, hefting his shield up. Natasha ran towards it and jumped onto the flat surface of the vibranium. Steve pushed up just in time, sending her flying into the air. She grabbed the end of a chariot and was whisked away.

"I gotta say, seeing that for real was pretty awesome." I said, making Steve chuckle a bit.

We glanced up at the sky as we heard thunder rolling, and saw lightning arcing through the sky towards the portal. Johnny was making a fiery ring in the sky, incinerating almost anything that got too low. The few that managed to escape through Thor and Johnny's wall of death where either smashed by the Hulk, or caught in on of Peter's webs, or shot by Clint, or disinigrated by Tony's repulsors. Steve took off, most likely to save the building full of people.

I continued bashing alien brains. I even grabbed on of their spears. It looked a lot like Loki's; I noted. Thor's rage ended and he took off into the sky, destroying alien chariots. Tony and peter kept going back and forth on thirty ninth street, webbing or zapping anything that got too far over the border. I could hear the ringing of bullets in the air as police officers took on the ones on the ground.

I headed in that direction, taking down a few as I went, though my main focus was helping the police officers. When I arrived, I saw people running away, weaving in and out of the police cars that had been pulled up to barricade the street. Peter arrived from nowhere as I pummeled an aliens (disgusting) face.

"What are you doing?" He asked casually.  
"Oh you know. Nothing more refreshing the smell of char broiled alien butt in the morning."  
He laughed, avoiding some gunfire and punching an alien in the stomach.  
I fired the spear at another, sending it sprawling.

I groaned as I heard two more Leviathan's coming through the portal.  
"Don't worry." I said as Peter sighed along with me. "Thor, Brucie, and Mr. Ego got those."  
We continued to clear the street with the officers, some chariots collapsing from the sky randomly, thanks to Clint. Nearby one of the Leviathans crashed through the roof of a train station. I hoped it wasn't Grand Central Station.

I heard a few cheers from civilians as we finished clearing the street. It was a long street. Me and Peter high fived.

"See you later?" I asked cheerfully, as if we where just friends walking on a school campus with nothing to do.  
"Yeah. Yeah. See ya later." He took off into the air.

I turned back towards the police, who were now coming out into the street slowly. I took off, heading towards Stark Tower.

Another Leviathan blew up a few blocks away, and I saw Tony doing cartwheels in the air as the debris flew everywhere. Another explosion happened and Loki went flying towards the tower.

I had to see this. I rushed inside, running up the stairs. I was breathless by the time I got to the top (I was breathless a few hours before) but I was just in time to see my favorite part. Bruce was midway into throwing Loki around.

_Smash_

_Thud_

_Crash_

_Crash_

Loki groaned when it was over, and I stifled an amused giggle.

"Puny god." Bruce said before striding towards me.  
"Good job Brucie!" I started clapping hysterically.  
The Hulk smiled (it was cute) and looked back at Loki again.

"Hey Jolly Green?" I asked.  
The Hulk turned towards me.  
"You mind if I hitch a ride?"  
He smiled again, though this one was a bit more shy. He put his hands around my waist and hefted me onto his shoulder. I latched onto his neck, though he didn't seem to mind. I had a childish grin on my face.  
"Hulk like machine girl." The Hulk said.  
I grinned more and prepared for the jump.  
"Machine girl like Hulk." I whispered into his ear.

* * *

After I took a ride on the Hulk, he dropped me off with Thor and Steve (Thor really did drop his hammer!) and we continued bashing aliens. Or 'bringing justice to these vile creatures' as Thor put it. Then Natasha found out how to close the portal. Tony told her to stop just as she was about to. By this time, all of us (me, Peter, Logan, Steve, Thor, and Johnny) has gathered a few streets away from Stark Tower. Or now, 'A' Tower. We watched as Tony guided the missile up into the air. We watched anxiously as he disappeared into the portal.

All of the aliens fell around us, but we didn't notice.

I remember the silence was deafening. It felt like hours as we wall watched the swirling dark blue space through the portal, stars shining. I almost recognized those stars.

"Close it." Steve said.

For a split second I wondered if he would make it in time. If us being here effected the amount of time it took him to fall back to earth. I watched as the portal swirled shut, and just as it closed, a small red and gold object zipped back down to the heavy pull of earth's gravity.

"Son of a gun." Logan said.

We all watched as he continued to fall.

"He's not slowing down." Thor said loudly, wording my thoughts as he started to swing his hammer.

Before Thor could rush forward, Bruce appeared from nowhere. He caught Tony roughly, damaging a building as he slid down. When the Hulk touched the ground, he waddled (yes waddled) over to us and dropped Tony on the ground with a thud. Peter ripped the face-plate off the suit, sending it rattling away.

Johnny stood next to me; and I could tell he was worried. I gripped onto his arm for dear life, though I knew Tony would be okay. He had to be okay. His face looked peaceful, almost serene. Like he was just asleep. We all sat there for a second, not doing anything but stare at the face of the man who had created and controlled the suit that had prevented a war.

Suddenly the Hulk roared, causing me to clap my hands over my ears and flinch. Tony jerked up, breathing heavily.  
"What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." He said, making Steve smile.  
"We won." Steve said simply.  
Tony sighed and let his head fall to the pavement. "Alright, hey; hey. Alright good job guys..." He stuttered. "Let's just not come in tomorrow... let's just... take a day." He looked back up at all of us. "Hey; have you ever tried shwarma? There's a... there's a shwarma joint about two blocks from here. I dunno what it is but I wanna try it."  
"We are not finished yet." Thor said gravely.  
Tony frowned, letting his eyes drift between us. "And then shwarma after? Ho... what do we got h-"

I didn't hear the end of the sentence. All I could register was the kiss me and Johnny where now sharing. It felt like sparks, which was fitting. I hugged him as we continued to kiss. I finally broke it.  
Then I asked sweetly; "So we're an item now?"

* * *

Loki was outside the shwarma joint. We where inside, eating. I was still red from earlier, but I was happy. Oh so happy. Natasha grabbed her food and bit into it again while Thor just ate his hungrily. Bruce chewed thoughtfully, bobbing his head slightly to the radio on the counter while a worker swept away some of the dust from the debris that had fallen through the roof. Clint sat back in his chair thoughtlessly. Steve had his head on his fist, looking tiredly at Tony, who had his feet on the table and was wringing his hands with a napkin. Peter was hanging from the ceiling, dropping food onto the table while Logan watched the raining crumbs, almost giving them the evil eye. Johnny and I were squished into the same chair, but I didn't mind.

Suddenly Tony interrupted the silence.  
"So... I was thinking... maybe if you guys wanted... after everything gets back together and sorted out... maybe we could all live in the tower together."  
"Sure." Bruce said.  
"Yeah, maybe in a few months." I said.  
Peter and Johnny nodded in agreement.

No one else answered.

"Alright then." Tony said, putting his napkin in his food basket.

* * *

We all stood near a lake in central park. Nearby Tony had parked a Ferrari, and Logan and Steve's motorcycles where parked close to the bright red sports car. Thor and Loki stood in the middle of the bridge (or balcony) like alcove we stood on. Natasha and Clint stood of to the left. Natasha whispered something into Clint's ear, and a large smirk grew slowly on his face. I could see the amusement on his face, even with the sunglasses perched on his nose. Logan stood near Steve, who was near Dr. Selvig. I had been introduced, but I honestly tough he was a bit whacky in real life. Bruce stood next to Tony, who radiated 'rich man swag' over by the Ferrari. And me, Peter and of course Johnny stood close to the railing. I actually sat on the railing.

Everyone bid their farewells, Thor and Loki disappeared in a blue haze, Tony and Bruce sped away in the Ferrari, and Steve and Logan took of in different directions on their motorcycles. Clint and Natasha basically disappeared into thin air when no one was paying attention to them.

I sighed, and slipped down from the railing. The three of us took of towards a trail in central park.  
"That was fun." I broke the silence.  
Johnny chuckled, a grin growing on his face. Peter shared the same look.  
I put my arms around their shoulders, grinning.  
"So what next?" Peter asked, looking at me with his big brown eyes.  
"D.C. get's destroyed, Tony almost dies, and Thor moves into the tower. And then we move into the tower. After that I have no idea."  
We walked among the oak and yew trees in the park. The tips of the leaves where now turning lovely shades of yellow and orange. A few fell as the breeze rustled the trees. For a while we all just walked in silence. I didn't care where we where going at this point. It was all done for a year.

I looked up at the path ahead of us as a buzzing started to fill the air. Confusion spelled across Peter's face.  
"What's that?..." Johnny asked suspiciously.  
"It sounds familiar." Peter said. I nodded in agreement. Suddenly my eyes widened as I figured out why.  
"A rift." I muttered.  
"A what?" Johnny asked.  
"Another rift, another portal, like the ones that brought us here." I whispered, my eyes growing as I wondered what would happen next.

We now stood in the middle of the path, now completely alone. A blue orb grew in front of us.

And suddenly something clicked.

Now I knew why we had appeared. How Loki had gotten here. Someone was messing around with the Tesseract.  
Thanos. He must be having some fun with the space orbs.

I almost forgot what was happening as the orb grew. Suddenly someone fell out and landed on the pavement. Peter's mouth was agape, and my eyes where even larger than before.

The person who was now standing before us had short blonde hair done in a ponytail, a black headband on her head. She wore a modest black skirt and a long sleeved blue shirt. And she was barefoot. Peter was walking slowly forward, as if uncertain of who was in front of him. She stood, shaking, as Peter helped her up. She looked at him. Joy filled her eyes.  
"Peter?"  
"Yeah... Yeah.. It's me." He said as she started crying with joy. She hugged him and held on as if she would never let go.  
"What happened? Where were you? I-"  
"Shhh. I'll tell you soon, just calm down."

Johnny watched, confused.

We all stood there in an awkward silence for about ten minutes until I decided to break the ice.

"Ah portals." I sighed." Welcome to the new world Gwen Stacy."


End file.
